7 Emmerdale Spoilers for Next Week – 29th December to 2nd January

Next week on Emmerdale, lives are on the line as John and Ray line up their targets, April attempts to save Bear, and Jacob and Sarah receive another wedding shock.

1) Will John enact his ultimate revenge?

There’s continued danger lurking for Robert (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron (Danny Miller) next week, but not from the person they’re expecting.

Robert’s estranged prison husband Kev (Chris Coghill) resurfaced this week following a series of unsettling incidents that made it clear the couple were being targeted. Robert was quick to uncover who was responsible, but matters escalated dramatically when Kev later attempted to shoot Aaron with a rifle.

As Robert and Aaron braced themselves for Kev’s next move, they remained unaware that the threat had shifted. Kev’s vendetta had been quietly hijacked by Aaron’s equally unhinged ex-husband John (Oliver Farnworth), who had secretly returned to the village.

Currently on the run—after killing Nate (Jurell Carter), kidnapping Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb) and a previous attempt to kill Aaron—John has now added to his rap sheet by abducting Kev and holding him captive in an abandoned house. Realising the opportunity in front of him, John has laid out his plan to kill Robert, and frame Kev as the scorned ex.

Next week, still unaware that John is lurking in the village, Robert is unsettled when he realises Aaron is suffering nightmares about Kev, and it only reinforces his growing sense of responsibility for the damage Kev has caused to those closest to him.

Elsewhere, John grows increasingly irritated by Kev’s constant chatter. Though Kev remains central to John’s scheme to frame him for Robert’s murder, his questioning and criticism of the plan is beginning to grate somewhat.

Back at Robron’s Mill Cottage apartment—where Victoria (Isabel Hodgins) and young son Harry (Adam Pryor) are also staying whilst Kev remains at large—Victoria is upset to see just how much of a toll the situation has taken on her brother, wrestling with his guilt over bringing Kev into their lives.

When Harry’s later playing in the garden, a stray kick sees his football shoot into the woods. As he goes to retrieve it, he finds himself face-to-face with his Uncle John. Oblivious to the danger, Harry is pleased to see his uncle again. John talks with Harry about a future where the whole family is happily together, but his tone shifts when Harry asks whether Robert will be a part of it.

Panic sets in for Victoria when she realises Harry has gone missing, but she’s soon relieved when he emerges from the woods unharmed. From a distance, John watches Robert with Harry, the sight only fuelling his resentment towards him. 

With Kev still unaccounted for, Robert becomes increasingly focused on getting Victoria and Harry out of harm’s way.

Back at the abandoned house, John finally reveals the full horror of his plan to Kev. He intends to kill Robert using an IED—and ensure Kev is the one who takes the blame!

John goes on to twist the knife further, revealing he’s overheard Robert’s determination to get Kev sent back to prison. The news devastates Kev, but he still desperately tries to talk John down, warning him that his scheme could claim innocent lives. John refuses to listen.

Whilst Aaron and Robert take precautions against Kev, little do they realise of the real danger outside as John puts his plan into motion. He secretly fixes the device under Robert’s car, leaving it primed and waiting…

The following day, the New Year’s Eve episode opens with a chilling montage, during which we see the armed device still concealed under Robert’s car as he and Aaron begin to go about their daily business.

Meanwhile, Kev is growing increasingly frantic, begging John for reassurance that Robert is safe. But John makes it clear he’s simply waiting for the right moment to detonate—determined to finish Robert once and for all!

2) Will Kev tell Lewis everything?

Later in the week, Kev still has some other unfinished business, after discovering shortly before his departure last month that café worker Lewis (Bradley Riches) is in fact his long-lost son.

Although Lewis is still blissfully unaware that he has come face-to-face with his father, it didn’t take long for Liam (Jonny MacPherson) and Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) to put the clues together, after Kev spoke of the nurse named Emma (Gillian Kearney) that he had a one-night-stand with 23 years ago.

After Kev carried out an armed robbery, Nicola issued him with an ultimatum, threatening to shop him to the police if he didn’t walk away from Lewis.

Next week, as Nicola and Lewis clear away the Christmas decorations, Kev turns up at the café while Lewis is out the back, leaving a furious Nicola alone to face him. At the end of her tether, Nicola issues Kev another ultimatum.

Either he reveal the truth to Lewis and then stick around to form a relationship with him, or leave the village and never return.

What will Kev decide to do?

3) April attempts to save Bear

Elsewhere in the village, April (Amelia Flanagan) is increasingly unsettled about the prospect of being forced to leave the village with Ray (Joe Absolom) and Celia (Jaye Griffiths).

Boyfriend Dylan (Fred Kettle) is also facing a dilemma of his own, when Mandy (Lisa Riley) asks him to join her for a trip to Ireland. Spotting a chance for him to escape, April encourages Dylan to head to Donegal, only to find herself forced to explain why she can’t go with him—admitting she’s leaving with Ray and Celia instead.

As emotions spill over, April finally opens up about her role in Callum’s (Max Lohan) supposed death, and how the dastardly pair are holding it over her.

With all of April’s cards finally out on the table, Dylan decides it’s his turn to come clean. He reveals the full truth about Ray and Celia’s criminal operation at the farm, with the horrifying reality that Paddy’s (Dominic Brunt) missing dad Bear (Joshua Richards) is one of several slaves being kept there to be used as forced labour.

United by what they now know, Dylan and April resolve to bring Ray and Celia down for good, determined to free Bear and find a way out of their own dangerous situation. As they begin to formulate their plan, Paddy is moved when Dylan tells him he’s decided to stay in the village with him instead of going to Ireland.

The following day, knowing there’s no room for mistakes, Dylan and April go over their plan to rescue Bear one last time.

Meanwhile, Celia begins to sense her time in the village is running out when even Bob (Tony Audenshaw) can’t muster any warmth towards her. The sooner they leave for Wrexham, the better.

With Ray distracted after a rock is hurled through Laurel’s (Charlotte Bellamy) window, April seizes the moment to slip onto Celia’s land and put their plan into action.

April finally comes face to face with Bear and is horrified by the condition he’s in. She begs him to leave with her and return to the village, but Bear remains steadfastly loyal to Ray, refusing to go.

As Celia returns to the farm, Bear panics and urges April to make her escape, only for Celia to catch sight of the teen fleeing across the fields.

Realising something is afoot, Celia wastes no time in instructing Ray to eliminate April once and for all—while she will turn her attention firmly onto Bear.

4) Will Ray kill April?

As New Year’s Eve comes around, the montage at the beginning of the episode shows a flash-forward of an unidentified hand, holding a bloodied blade somewhere in the woods.

Back in the present, Ray has been tasked with finally doing away with April, and with Celia’s warning ringing in his ears, Ray steels himself to lure April to her death.

But his resolve is shaken after Laurel asks him to meet up for New Year’s celebrations. When Ray admits he’s planning to leave the village for good, Laurel is devastated—before confessing that she wants to give their relationship a real chance.

The moment leaves Ray deeply conflicted. He had dreamed of changing his ways and starting a new life with Laurel, and now it seems that possibility is within reach, if not for the grip of his mother.

Later, Ray lures April away from the village under the pretence of hiding some evidence. But as they begin digging, the horrifying truth dawns on April—the hole isn’t to bury evidence, it’s for her own grave!

Terrified, she begs Ray to stop, pleading for her life as the reality of his intentions becomes clear. Will Ray go through with it?

Ray ends up spending the night with Laurel, but the events of the previous day continue to weigh heavily on him. Stressed, he ignores repeated calls from Celia.

Over at Smithy Cottage, alarm bells begin to ring for Marlon (Mark Charnock) and Rhona (Zoe Henry) after April failed to come home, leaving them increasingly worried about where she could be…

5) Jai makes a move on Mrs Pollard

Elsewhere in the village, residents are still reeling over the shock announcement that Eric (Chris Chittell) and Kerry (Laura Norton) are now husband and wife!

Eric’s grandson Jacob (Joe-Warren Plant) and his fiancée Sarah (Katie Hill) has been planning to marry in secret at the local registry office earlier this week, only to find the newly wed Mr & Mrs Pollard emerging on their arrival. 

While Eric and Kerry are now forced to play the part of a loved-up couple in public, the reality is far more calculated. Their marriage is purely a financial arrangement, designed to protect Eric’s assets and safeguard Jacob’s future.

Next week, Kerry is caught off guard when she realises just how wounded Jai (Chris Bisson) is by the news of her marriage to Eric.

After the pair hooked up in the depot office back in October, it had seemed as though Jai and Kerry could be heading towards an unexpected romance—until Kerry later made it clear to her boss that pursuing anything further wouldn’t be wise.

Jai is relieved when Kerry later admits the wedding is purely a financial move, but he badly misreads the moment, convincing himself that her honesty means she may still have feelings for him. Buoyed by false hope, he leans in for a kiss—only for Kerry to reject him

Mortified, Jai storms off, unaware that Eric has overheard enough to be deeply uneasy about how much Kerry has revealed.

With Jai nursing his pride, could a bitter backlash be on the cards—and might he report the sham marriage to the authorities?

6) Charity confronts Vanessa

Over at Jacobs Fold, the anonymous note posted through the door revealing her baby secret has sent Charity (Emma Atkins) into a frenzy. Charity had spent Christmas day in fear that an increasingly drunken Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick) would reveal the surrogate baby she was carrying wasn’t in fact Sarah and Jacob’s, but Charity’s own.

Convinced the baby is Mack’s, Vanessa has been piling the pressure on Charity to come clean, unaware that the real father is Ross (Michael Parr) following a drunken encounter.

John overheard Charity and Vanessa arguing whilst hiding out near the Woolpack’s nativity scene on Christmas Day.

Unable to resist getting his own back on old foe Mack, he posted a note through the letterbox, which explained that Charity was lying and it was Mack’s baby.

Next week, determined to get answers, Charity seeks out Vanessa and confronts her over the anonymous note.

Vanessa flatly denies having anything to do with it, and the exchange quickly turns sour. Irritated by Charity’s accusations, Vanessa snaps that she hopes the truth about the baby eventually comes back to bite her.

Charity finally receives the results of the baby’s genetic test and later relays the outcome to Vanessa. Already fed up with Charity’s web of lies, Vanessa reacts angrily, and the conversation soon escalates. As tempers flare, Charity lashes out, hurling insults at Vanessa despite the support she’s shown throughout.

Will this finally be the straw the breaks the camel’s back and cause Vanessa to reveal all?

7) Sarah and Jacob’s wedding shock

Meanwhile, after their plans to marry were thrown into disarray following the Eric and Kerry scandal, Sarah is down in the dumps about not getting her chance for a winter wedding to Jacob before the baby is born.

Charity’s taken aback to see just how much it has affected her granddaughter, and so hatches a plan to put on a surprise wedding for the pair.

With her mind made up, Charity ropes Eric into helping by pulling strings at the council, hoping his old contacts can fast-track things in time.

Eric heads off to see what he can do, and as New Year celebrations get underway at the Woolpack, Charity is delighted when he returns with news that everything has been approved for the following day.

Summoned to the pub on New Year’s Day, Sarah’s stunned to realise it’s been set up for her wedding day, and Charity is relieved to see the happiness wash over her.

As guests gather outside the Woolpack, Jacob arrives, having been told to suit up.

He’s left speechless when he sees Sarah approaching in her wedding dress, finally realising that today is his surprise wedding day!

As everyone gathers inside for the ceremony, Charity’s excitement is tempered by the lingering worries that Vanessa could still derail the couple’s happiness…

Will everything go to plan?